Pension Amount

What is the amount of the pension payable?

The amount of the pension payable is different for each employee. It depends on the pension calculation, the application of the rules for eligibility for retirement and the pension options chosen at the time of retirement. The amounts are different for each option set out, on the Application for Pension Benefit form.

Are the amounts on the form guaranteed?

The pension amounts given on the form are guaranteed on condition that the employee returns the form before the indicated deadline. This deadline is for 60 or 90 days, as applicable, from the date on which the form was produced.

Employees who do not return the form before the deadline will have to apply again. The options may then be different and the amounts calculated may be higher or lower than those on the first form.

If an employee’s hours have been adjusted or if the wrong date of birth was used in the calculations, the pension amounts on a form may be revised.

Can the pension be reduced once an employee begins to receive it?

Once a pension has begun to be paid to an employee (or a surviving spouse), it is payable for life.

However, a downward correction to the hours worked on record in the first two years after payments begin may reduce the amount of the pension. If the correction is made after the two-year period, the pension is not reduced.

Is the pension indexed to the cost of living?

The pension is not indexed to the cost of living. Indexing may be granted when the plan’s financial situation permits. Any indexing is applied at the beginning of the year and pensioners are informed of this in advance by mail.

Is the pension taxable?

The pension is taxable. The pension amounts before taxes appear on the Application for Pension Benefit form. The CCQ deducts taxes at source every month. It is also possible, if the pension amount is low, that no taxes will be deducted from the payment. This does not mean that these retirees will not have to pay income tax when they prepare their tax returns. They may ask the CCQ in writing to deduct amounts at source or to increase the amounts already deducted from the pension, for federal or provincial income tax. The Personal Tax Credits Return forms must then be filled out and sent to the CCQ: the TD-1 form for federal income tax and TP-1017 for provincial income tax.